Saturday, 25 June 2011

Last Sunday we moseyed along to Marylebone for its annual Summer Fair. Streets are closed off to traffic, balloons and street artists proliferate, and shops spill out their wares into the road ...

Marylebone High Street is just a short walk from hectic Oxford Street, but feels like it's a world away. Leading down from the Marylebone Parish Church (above), in a pocket between Regents Park and Hyde Park, it's been voted best street in London - among other things for its pretty fantastic selection of interesting food, clothes and homeware shops ...

A display of mugs at Emma Bridgewater, Designer's Guild table linen and cocktails at the chic The Marylebone pub.

Street food was everywhere - I was happy I'd skipped breakfast ...

Even Elvis was there, crooning away in neon orange ...

... and if you were a dog, it was definitely the place to see and be seen ...

Opposite the Conran shop in a striking orange Victorian building, is the Cabbages and Frocks market, in the cobbled courtyard of St Marylebone Parish Church, where, as the name suggests, you can buy anything from plants to dresses and hats ...

A couple of bobbies appeared to be eyeing some frocks (?) and this lady seemed perfectly dressed for the occasion with her garland and straw bag ...

This is one of my favourite shopping streets in London. But two places in particular I find completely impossible to pass by without popping in. One is Daunt Books - possibly my favourite bookshop in London. I have no photos of its lovely, welcoming interior - Edwardian, oak galleries and vaulted skylights - but take a look here.

Daunt Books, 83 Marylebone High Street

And the other is La Fromagerie - delicatessen, (tiny) restaurant and above all, cheese shop, as the name would suggest ...

Owner Patricia Michelson hosts foodie events and wine tastings here too. A couple of summers ago I came to a Saturday morning brunch demonstration at which Aussie chef Bill Granger cooked for a small group (not much space here!). He was every bit as nice and friendly as he looks in his photos and his scrambled eggs were the best I've had in my life.

If you're lucky enough to find a seat at the refectory table under the huge clock (below right), you can tuck into a delicious buffet lunch of whatever's been freshly made in the kitchen. But a must-do is a visit to the sealed-off cheese room (below left) where several charming and knowledgeable Frenchmen (not pictured, sorry!) will talk you through a fabulous selection ...

La Fromagerie, 2-6 Moxon Street, Marylebone

Back outside in the road, the Portuguese vied with the French in the patisserie stakes ...